One of the things I find strange and annoying about the place of knitting and crochet in the world is the assumption that it should be done for others. When I’m knitting a sweater, and I say (when asked) that I’m knitting it for myself, I have been met more than once with “isn’t that a bit selfish?” This baffles me. I also sew for myself, and I’ve never encountered that reaction with regards to my sewing.
Making yarn graffiti seems to garner this response even more than crafting garments for oneself. I’ve often read or heard the (sometimes vehement) opinion that people who make yarn graffiti should spend their time and resources crafting for charity, that making objects without a utilitarian purpose is a waste. I would argue that yarn graffiti serves the same important purpose as any other form of artistic self-expression.
There are many ways people choose to spend their spare time: watching TV, shopping, reading, making art, socializing, gaming, crafting, engaging in athletic activities; the list goes on. With most of these pursuits, people accept that they are done for pleasure, or to fulfill personal needs or desires.
If you choose to devote your spare time to crochet or knitting, you may be doing it because you enjoy the tactile aspects of working with a luscious yarn, because you find the act of forming something cozy and tangible to be satisfying, or because you like the idea of making things yourself, instead of purchasing everything you own ready-made. Maybe you just want to have something to do with your hands while you watch TV. There are as many reasons to craft with yarn as their are yarn-crafters. Some people do, indeed, wish to make things to help others.
But knitting and crochet are creative media like any other, and the uses to which they’re put are and should be at the discretion of the person wielding the yarn.
